Defending champion Halep withdraws from Wimbledon with calf injury

Defending champion Simona Halep pulled out of Wimbledon Friday after failing to recover from a calf injury she suffered last month, the world No 3 Romanian said.

In May Halep exited the claycourt event in Rome after suffering a calf injury during her second-round match against Angelique Kerber and was subsequently forced to miss the French Open.

The 29-year old won the title when Wimbledon was last held in 2019.

Halep was denied a chance to defend her title when Wimbledon was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

She joins world No 2 Naomi Osaka in withdrawing from the grasscourt Grand Slam with the Japanese also skipping Wimbledon following her withdrawal from Roland Garros due to mental health issues.

In their absence, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka will climb up to be the No 2 seed behind top-ranked Australian Ashleigh Barty with the singles draw for both men and women to be held later Friday.